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Songbird Rebellion
The Songbird Rebellion was a rebellion that began 11 years previous to the events of "In the Name Of Your King." It transpired during the reign of Sebastian Cooper, lasted 2 years, eight months and twenty one days, and ended with the Razing of Paseras and the death of the two eldest sons of the Tarnhelm family. The results of the defeat of the Songbird Rebellion stand as a testament to the rule of the Coopers, but the efforts used in quelling the rebellion have also served as an arguing point against them due to their brutality. Events Prior to the Rebellion and the Declaration of Paserine Seccession "Paseras, they would call it! Paserine, they would call us! And proud were we, are we, to bear such a title. We whose dreams were as the birds: high, and sweetly sung. So Efryn and his blood would speak with the birds as heavenly messengers, not the son of a barrelmaker, but a father of an idea, and a man with one foot in heaven's door. Ours is a legacy that cannot be stopped, no sooner than one can pluck every feather from every wing from every bird flying high overhead." ----Lophostrix Ninox, Flight of Efryn, Epilogue Years prior to the rebellion, Paseras had been undergoing a cultural and economic renaissance. Heryn IV Tarnhelm, head of the Tarnhelm family had just invested large amounts of his ancestral wealth in two universities: Tyton University in Plovertreath, and Efryn University in Avialae. Thus, several years of artistic and literary production unique to Paseras had spawned internal debates on the cultural distinction Paseras had from the rest of Ennik. With the publication of Flight of Efryn, ''a history detailing the founding of House Tarnhelm and Paseras' eventual conquest by Richard Brutus Cooper, that was written by the famous writer and historian, Lophostrix Ninox. The book became a massive hit among Paseras' academic community, and eventually its pro-secession attitudes bled into the lower classes. ''"I ask you brothers and sisters, what is sadder than a bird denied flight? Why now have the gods blessed us with these writers and painters, inventors and dreamers? If we are not all notes in the song of the gods, why is it so sweet now? Because, brothers and sisters, the song of a caged bird is always sweet enough to break hearts. But the taste of freedom? Aye, brothers and sisters, that is sweeter than any caged bird's song." ''----''Neso Mimus, "Letter to the Students of Efryn University" To be fair, the Songbird Rebellion began with songs in Taverns, with lectures in hallowed University halls, and in the chapels and gardens and halls where Paserine paganistic rituals were practiced. As a whole, Paseras grew increasingly unwelcome to those markedly "non-Paserine" in culture and religion. They grew increasingly fearful and resentful of the threats presented by Begoans in the south and Et'ili in the North, as well as grew increasingly unwelcome toward the Church of Menoth and all of its practitioners. Most of all, they disliked being grouped in with the rest of Trillian, and being ruled over by a king so few Paserines could identify with. One night while quelling a barroom brawl, a Trillian-born soldier stabbed and killed Neso Mimus, a popular and charismatic writer and head editor of a pro-secession student-run newspaper at Efryn university. The death of Mimus, called "Mockingbird" by his friends, fired up small riots throughout Paseras. Numerous Menite churches were burned. In response to the exponentially galvanized anti-Trillian and Pro-Secession attitudes in Paseras, as well as the increasing violence, Sebastian Cooper ordered in more troops to keep the peace in Paseras, which only fueled more violence and anti-Trillian resentment. Infuriated by the increase in Trillian troops in Paseras without his permission, Heryn IV Tarnhelm met with his council and drafted the Declaration of Paserine Secession. When Sebastian refused to recognize this treatise, Heryn IV and his council declared war. Barrel-Makers and Butcher Birds "Goddess and Almighty give me strength. The singing has not stopped. I give myself now unto the arms of my gods for I know death flies on swift wings tonight. They are coming. The Nightheron is coming. I swear that with the grace of my gods, as they ascend me to their sweet embrace, so may I cast down as many of these most damned Songbirds to the fiery pit below as their grace allows me." '' ---Journal found at destroyed Trillian Camp on eastern end of River Shrike, Author unknown. Cooper and Trillian supporters had several factors running against them. For one, they were going up against a very determined local militia, defending home turf they knew better, and were much more willing to kill for. Paserine forces' utilization of Guerrilla tactics gained them the nicknames, "Butcher birds" both a reference to their ferocity in battle, their shock-and-awe and psychological warfare, and the two shrikes featured in the House Tarnhelm coat of arms. The most feared captain of Paserine forces was Heryn V Tarnhelm, second-born son of Heryn IV Tarnhelm. His "Signature" move was sending flocks of ravens in toward enemy forces with the express direction to claw their eyes out. His troops would move in and slaughter the distracted troops. The idea that one may never see daylight again if they managed to survive an attack from the second-born Tarnhelm son earned Heryn th nickname "Nightheron." ''"If the first-born son is the right hand of his father, I am my father's sword. I have no qualms with Robyn inheriting the title and Father's crown over me. He is a good man: handsome, humble, and well-loved. He will be the face of my father's legacy. But I, as always, am content to be my father's sword. Robyn will make a fitting heir to him, and a face of the king of Paseras. He shall be king in name, but we shall be king, one king in two bodies. I will be his sword and his right hand, and he shall be my face and heart. A king needs both fear and love to rule. The people will love him. But they will fear me." ''---''Journal of Heryn V Tarnhelm Robyn was the face of the Tarnhelm militia. Though he was wary of his younger brother's darkness, the two worked together and were a nearly unstoppable force in the Rebellion. True to Heryn's words, Robyn was loved where Heryn was feared. The Tarnhelm boys and their Butcher birds The Battle of Fort Dalbourne and The Razing of Paseras Fort Dalbourne was the base of operations for much of the Paserine forces. Situated on a convenient bend in the River Shrike, the Fort was older even than the Tarnhelm family, and served as the primary command center for Heryn IV as he directed his forces to defend his rebel land.